Ad tech consolidation in 2025 is well underway, and it’s only mid-January.
On Monday, T-Mobile acquired Vistar Media, an out-of-home advertising company, for $600 million. And on Wednesday, The Trade Desk acquired Sincera, an ad tech metadata company that’s been helpful for supply-path optimization, fraud, monitoring of alternate IDs and more. To gain insight into these acquisitions, we bring on Conor McKenna of LUMA Partners.
Why is T-Mobile, a telco with a rideshare advertising acquisition under its belt, going further into out-of-home advertising? While Verizon and AT&T both acquired and then divested advertising businesses (AOL/Yahoo, Xandr, we’re looking at you), T-Mobile is leaning in.
Then, we discuss why Sincera caught the eye of The Trade Desk. For one, the metadata company’s analysis has shined a light in some dark corners of ad tech since Mike O’Sullivan and Ian Meyers founded the company in 2022. A year ago, it raised $4.2 million in seed funding. To be snapped up by The Trade Desk, one of Sincera’s customers, a handful of years into its run is a dream scenario for many founders: a quick exit to a familiar buyer.
But what’s next once these companies are in the hands of new owners? On the podcast, we predict The Trade Desk will use Sincera’s tech to boost adoption of UID, by showing the value it can create, and intensify efforts to curate inventory according to its quality standards.
Stay tuned, because these acquisitions are only the beginning of the story and we’re excited to watch the companies’ post-acquisition integrations play out.
